


The Long Con

by Siberianskys



Series: Trust Me [7]
Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Clint Barton's Backstory, Established Relationship, M/M, Natasha Romanov Backstory, POV Clint Barton, Protective Natasha Romanov, Protective Phil Coulson, Red Room (Marvel), What Happened in Budapest
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-06
Updated: 2018-11-10
Packaged: 2019-06-26 02:11:19
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 1,957
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15653622
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Siberianskys/pseuds/Siberianskys
Summary: A reader asked me to write about the interview mentioned in the previous fic of this series. I'm fairly certain that this wasn't what she had in mind, but I hope she likes it anyway. I just followed where the characters led me. By now, I should be used to them leading me somewhere I hadn't anticipated, but I still get surprised.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A reader asked me to write about the interview mentioned in the previous fic of this series. I'm fairly certain that this wasn't what she had in mind, but I hope she likes it anyway. I just followed where the characters led me. By now, I should be used to them leading me somewhere I hadn't anticipated, but I still get surprised.

Clint sat in a corner booth with his back to the wall, his ankles crossed and his bottom foot tapping rhythmically against the table leg. He still couldn't believe that he'd agreed to do this favor for Phil's sister-in-law's student. When he'd said yes at the family dinner, it had seemed like an easy way to make brownie points, but now that the day had arrived he felt sick to his stomach. The only thing that was making the idea of the interview better was that Phil was sitting across the room watching him over the rim of his frosty beer mug. After Budapest, he wasn't sure if Phil would still be in his life let alone if he would still have a job with S.H.I.E.L.D. His eyes drifted away from Phil and made contact with the intense gaze of the reason that he'd had his doubts about both.

Natasha was sitting next to Phil eating French fries dipped in house-made mayo and taking in everything going on in the nearly empty grille. Clint still didn't know if he was more surprised that Fury had allowed him to stay in his relationship with Phil and continue in his job or had finally allowed The Black Widow out of H.Q. He wondered how much Phil had to do with any of the above. As part of her deal, much like the one he'd been given when he'd joined S.H.I.E.L.D., she'd had to stay in H.Q. until the Psych Department cleared her. Even Clint hadn't been forced to stay on H.Q. property for as long as Natasha. Phil was starting to warm to her after he came to realize that Clint hadn't refused to shoot her, because he wanted to sleep with her, but because she reminded him of himself in the bad old days. Clint pulled himself out of his revelry and turned his complete attention on the entry way when he realized that Tasha's eyes had suddenly darted in that direction.

Before he could rise and greet the woman who was rapidly approaching his booth, Natasha had cartwheeled over the tabletop of her and Phil's table, turned handsprings across the floor, and landed between him and the woman who fit the description that Karina had given Phil. 

"Uh, Tasha," Clint said as he stood, his eyes darting between her and Phil, who was pulling his sidearm as he started toward them, putting his body between Clint and the two women.


	2. Chapter 2

Clint watched through the one-way glass as Phil interrogated the woman who Natasha thankfully had recognized from being several years behind her in the Red Room. He smiled at Tasha even though he knew she couldn't see him as she stood behind Phil , her hand on her sidearm as she watched the woman with a death stare. If Tasha hadn't tagged along to what was supposed to be a late lunch interview between Clint and Phil's sister-in-law's student he would probably be in the hospital at best or the morgue at worst. 

Hearing the door to the observation room open, Clint looked over his shoulder as Sitwell entered. 

"He getting anywhere?" Sitwell asked. 

"She just keeps repeating her name which is Velika Egorevna Kazakova, by the way, and what I guess must be her rank and serial number," Clint said, shrugging.

"What do you know about Phil's sister-in-law?" Sitwell asked.

"Not much," Clint said. "She's Edward's second wife. I met her once. She's a sociology professor; I think."

"What happened to his brother's first wife?" Sitwell asked.

"She died in a car accident three or four years ago," Clint said.

"Phil mention anything suspicious about it?" Sitwell asked.

"You think Carina has something to do with this," Clint said. 

"I think she could be Kazakova's handler," Sitwell said. "I pulled Edward's marriage license. Carina's maiden name is Chapaev; I can't help but think that could be a pattern with Red Room graduates. Take Natalia Alianovna Romanova for instance."

"Shit," Clint said.

"I think you should take a team and pick-up the professor," Sitwell said. "I'll get someone else to watch Phil's back.

"You think Fury will let me take Tasha," Clint asked. 

"I think he'd be crazy not to."


	3. Chapter 3

Why couldn't Carina have just been at her house or at the university, Clint thought as he parked the unmarked S.H.I.E.L.D. SUV in front of the Coulson family home.

"This is going to be awkward," Clint said as he climbed out of the driver's seat.

"You don't have to come in," Natasha said, meeting Clint at the front of the vehicle. 

"Phil would bust my ass," Clint said, watching as three more S.H.I.E.L.D. SUVs approached the house. He still hadn't figured out what he was going to say to Mrs. Coulson. He could only hope that Carina came peacefully; he didn't want Jamie to see his aunt get shot. He'd been relieved when Fury had ordered Phil to stay at H.Q. to continue interrogating the Red Room assassin which was pretty weak in Clint's opinion, since the woman had still not said a word except for name, rank and serial number and wasn't likely to. According to Natasha, she was a true believer.

Clint signaled the strike team to stand down as the front door flew open and Jamie came running down the walkway screaming "Uncle Clint." Scooping the exuberant little boy up into his arms, Clint balanced him on his left hip as he rested his right hand on his sidearm, expecting Carina to be coming out the door next. 

"Uncle Clint?" Natasha asked, raising her right eyebrow.

Clint's ability to have a smart-ass comeback at the ready failed him, so he settled for sticking out his tongue.

"Clint Barton," Eleanor asked, stepping out onto the porch and walking toward them, "where's Phillip?"

"Doing his job, ma'am," Clint said. 

"He's safe?" Eleanor asked. 

"Yes, ma'am," Clint said.

"Then why," Eleanor asked, "are you and seven other armed members of what I can only presume are agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. standing in front of my house?"

"First I need to know where Carina is," Clint said, eyeing the front door.

"How would I know, dear?" Eleanor asked.

"She's not here?" Natasha asked. 

"She is not," Eleanor said. 

"Can we take this inside?" Clint asked. 

Eleanor pursed her lips and glanced between Clint and Natasha. "I think that's probably for the best."


	4. Chapter 4

Natasha stood between the open French doors that lead to what Mrs. Coulson called the library. She was not going to leave Clint alone in case Carina was hiding somewhere in the house. She left the searching of the ostentatious house to the rest of the team. She failed to hide her startle response when Mrs. Coulson addressed her. 

"Young lady," Mrs. Coulson asked, "do you intend to hover there for your entire stay?"

Clint couldn't stop laughing even though Mrs. Coulson was eyeing him with disapproval and Natasha's eyebrow was raised to a dangerous height. Once he got himself under control, he whispered something into Jamie's ear before he lifted the little boy off of his knee and lowered him to stand on the floor.

Natasha was pretty sure that a little boy running toward her and yelling "Auntie Tasha" was probably the last thing she expected to happen today. 

"Come on, Auntie Tasha," Clint said, "cop a squat."

Natasha took Jamie's offered hand and let him lead her to sit next to Clint. Once she was seated on the sofa next to Clint, Jamie climbed onto her lap and wrapped his arms around her neck. 

"Clint," Mrs. Coulson asked, "are you going to introduce the young lady?"

"Mrs. Coulson," Clint said, "this is Agent Natasha Romanov, Tasha this is Phil's mother Eleanor." 

"It's nice to meet you, Agent Romanov," Mrs. Coulson said. "Now are one of you going to explain all this?"

"Agent Barton," Natasha said, "is in command of this operation, ma'am."

"Then I suppose Agent Barton should be the one to explain," Mrs. Coulson said.

"Carina's student," Clint said, "the one she talked about over dinner, turned out to be a Russian spy. We have reason to believe that Carina is her handler."

"You can't be serious," Mrs. Coulson said. 

"Deadly," Natasha said.

"This student tried to kill Phillip?" Mrs. Coulson asked.

"No," Natasha said, "she tried to kill Clint."

Jamie tumbled over Natasha and onto Clint's lap. "Are you okay, Uncle Clint?"

"I'm fine," Clint said, "Phil and Tasha had my back."

"And you think Carina has something to do with all this?" Eleanor asked.

"That is the working theory," Natasha said.

"Did Phil tell you that Carina married Edward almost five years ago?" Eleanor asked. "That was before Clint even met Phillip."

"That's the strange part," Clint said. "If Carina's mission was to get to Phil then why send her asset to kill me? We've been asking ourselves that."

"We think that somewhere along the way the mission changed," Natasha said. "What we don't know is why."

"Excuse me, Agent Barton," Agent Davidson said.

"She's not here," Clint said. 

"It doesn't look that way, sir," Agent Davidson said. "The rest of the team is finishing-up clearing the house, just in case. I think you need to see this, though."

Clint stood-up and handed Jamie to Natasha. "What did you find?" he asked. 

"Her phone and some letters," Agent Davidson said, handing the phone and the pile of papers to Clint.

"This should be interesting," Clint said.


	5. Chapter 5

Clint knew there wasn't much he could do for Phil, the other Coulsons or even himself since S.H.I.E.L.D had only been able to continue to search for Carina with the limited information already in their possession. Velika Egorevna Kazakova was of no assistance to anyone anymore. Even though Natasha had recommended Kazakova be put on suicide watch, the would be assassin had managed to hang herself in her cell before she could reveal Carina's whereabouts, their dead-drop locations, or why Clint had been targeted for death, so Clint settled for laying on Phil's office sofa watching as his handler and lover sat behind his desk and read the letters that Carina had left.

Once Phil had finished reading the final letter and placed it on his desk, Clint sat up and waited for Phil to speak. When Phil only rested his chin on his fist and his elbow on his desk and remained silent, Clint sat back and against the back of the sofa and watched him for clues. 

"Penny for your thoughts?" Clint finally asked when Phil's continued silence began to feel awkward. 

Phil sighed, shook his head and climbed stiffly to his feet. "Let's go home," he said. 

Clint met Phil in the middle of the room and held out his hand. He smiled when Phil took it and pressed it to his lips. 

"Chinese or pizza?" Phil asked 

"Chinese," Clint said, no hesitation.

"Let's go home and order," Phil said. "I'm too tired to stand in line."

"Sounds like a plan," Clint said. "Are you going to show the letters to your family?"

"Our family," Phil corrected.

"Our family," Clint smiled. 

"Can't; they're classified," Phil said. 

"Are you responsible for that?" Clint asked. 

"I think Edward's better off staying angry at her," Phil said, "instead of reading how he started out as her mark, but she came to love him and the family...blah, blah, blah."

"I can't argue that," Clint said, leading Phil out into the hall and toward the elevator as the S.H.I.E.L.D agents heading out as well tried not to stare.


End file.
